I’m one of the best. Truly I am. I don’t say it with a hint of hubris either. It has taken years of honing this singular skill into something efficient as it is effective. Even when my my kids are watching intently (when a 2yr old AND a 4yr old are glued to the hunt…. […]
Read more "The fly hunter"I didn’t mean to get that song stuck in your head… I have a four year old who thinks he’s Elsa. As teachers we often find that we push ourselves to the breaking point and then beyond. We get so sick and yet still drag our butts out of bed and all the way to […]
Read more "Let it Go"This is the culminating activity of The Grid. It takes place over two to three days so students have the chance to work with other students than their BFF or the randomly assigned partner their evil teacher (me) stuck them with. As with every activity I run, I have the class agenda written out on a […]
Read more "The Grid Part IV: Build the World"In my last post I talked about how to introduce students with a team building game that exposes them to the overall shape and function of the grid. Students are exposed to vocabulary listed on index cards with terms such as: latitude, longitude, hemisphere, equator, coordinate, Cardinal Direction, et al. On day two my goals […]
Read more "The Grid Part III: Relative and Absolute Location"The Undead Writing Edition. I went to a Zombies vs. Humans nerf battle back in October. I’m not proud of it…well, actually it was pretty darn amazing. It was my first one in truth and probably not my last. While alone in the woods contemplating my next move as one of the last surviving humans, […]
Read more "How to avoid writing like a zombie!"Core Value statements need to change. Every time I visit a school, I make a point to look up what their ‘Core Values’ are. For those of you that might not know what core values are they are usually three to five words, or phrases, that encompass the ideals, aspirations and culture that a school […]
Read more "Core Value statements need to change."As educators, we tend to think that our students look at us as always have the answers to their questions. We often go to great lengths to research a unit so that we make sure we have the answers to all sorts of ridiculous and banal question that could possibly come up in class. I started my career […]
Read more "Why saying “I don’t know” is the most powerful tool a teacher has."Google Earth. You heard of it way back in 2006 when it first launched. Odds are that you probably even found your house on it and maybe even played the flight simulator that is built in. What you haven’t realized is that Google Earth is one of the single most powerful teaching tools for social […]
Read more "Why Google Earth is so awesome for teachers."If you are new to teaching, you’ve probably had dozens of veteran teachers tell you that having your daily agenda posted in a highly visible place is essential to having regular success in your class. They’re right, you know. An agenda board is not just for your students to have a reference point for the […]
Read more "Agendas in the classroom. Use them."I ask myself that question constantly. The look of engaged students chomping at the bit to ask more and more questions. Kids getting into arguments about hypotheses and debating all sorts of ideas. This is student led learning at its best. But how do we as educators actually create that in the classroom? What protocols […]
Read more "What does curiosity look like in the classroom?"
peter spiegel 